What's Up With Wall-E?

Yesterday during my daily visits to gaming websites and blogs, I came across this little piece of news. Apparently the video game "Wall-E" based on the hugely successful movie, is not nearly as successful. After one month of release, the video game has only sold 114,000 copies. That's not a good number. For comparison purposes, Guitar Hero Aerosmith which has been out just as long, has sold about 500,000 copies. And if you remember from one of my earlier blogs, GH Aerosmith is not very good. So the question is "What's Up With Wall-E?"Well, it's not the character. Wall-E is awesome. The movie is fantastic. It is one of Pixar's best. It's right up there with Finding Nemo and the Incredibles. Wall-E was very successful in the theaters making over $200 million since it's release. And it can't be the marketing. Wall-E is backed by Disney, which is just the biggest marketing juggernaut in the history of corporate America.

No, the issue with Wall-E is a lot more fundamental. It's a video game based on a movie, and these games just aren't very good. You can look back at prior video games based on movies and see they also weren't very successful. Last year we had a lot of video games based on successful movies and all of them failed. Games such as Transformers, Spiderman 3, and Pirates of the Caribbean all were gigantic failures.

There are a few reasons for this. The first is because the game developers are basically handcuffed when it comes to the content of the game. The movie studios have very strict guidelines when it comes to licensing their content. The video game has to stay very true to the movie. Take Wall-E as an example. The first 20-30 minutes of the movie, Wall-E is stuck on a completely deserted Earth collecting trash and trying to clean up the planet. Now in the movie it's very entertaining due to Wall-E's reactions to everything. Now try playing a video game where you just move around an empty wasteland picking up trash. Sound even remotely interesting?

The second main reason for the issue, is the game is too closely related to the movie. You just spent $8 dollars to go see the movie which you just enjoyed. Do you really feel like shelling out another $50 to play through the entire movie scene by scene? I mean you just saw the freaking thing, you know what's going to happen next. There's no suspense and no reason to play the game. Without having ever played the game, I'm betting Wall-E falls in love and finds his way into space. I know, because I've seen the movie.

The final reason why video games based on movies aren't very good is because the game play is not very good. The games aren't very innovative and they are very glitchy. There's nothing worse than moving Wall-E around Earth and he accidentally gets stuck on a pile of garbage he can't get out of, because the developers didn't beta test the game thoughougly. Now, it's not their fault. The game developers don't have a lot of time to create the game. They are given their instructions from the movie studio maybe 6 months before the game has to be released. And in that 6 months, they have to create the game and then test out all of the glitches before the game is released the same time the movie is. Remember, the game has to be released at the same time as the movie. I mean there would be no market for the game if it was released 6 months after the movie.

And I feel bad for Wall-E. He's a great guy and deserves to be treated better than this. I would have no problem playing a completely original Wall-E adventure. But that would take too long and too much money to create and publish. So unfortunately Wall-E is stuck in a very mediocre game that is being marketed to idiots who don't know any better. But now you are not one of those idiots. You are a more informed gamer, just like the 30 Year Old Gamer.

Until next time,

- The 30 Year Old Gamer

Monday Morning Review: Army of Two

I picked up Army of Two a little reluctantly a couple months back when it was first released. I had won an online poker game where I won a $25 Amazon gift card and decided that I would use my new found money to purchase a new video game. My decision was between Army of Two for my Xbox 360 or God of War for my PSP. With a little encouragement from my roommate I decided to go for Army of Two, and I have never regretted it.

Army of Two is made by Electronic Arts in an effort by the company to get away from everything sports. It's about these two guys who work for the Army and decide that it's stupid to go where the are told for a reason they don't understand. So, they quickly realize that it's much more rewarding to work for a private security company and go around the world and fight for apparently the most honorable thing in the world...money. That's right, you play two guys who are hired mercenaries and travel to the biggest war zones in the world and basically kill bad guys.

Let's first start with the bad things about this game. The story, while enjoyable, is really stupid. The story revolves around the trend of privatizing our military. Where apparently our army fails, these two guys can come in and clean up with very little problems. uh...right. The enemies that you fight in this game couldn't be more stereotypical, and that just goes to show how stupid some people really are. There is literally a scene where you are on the ground in Iraq or Afghanistan and you are being attacked by suicide bombers. These "suicide bombers" are men with beards and turbans on their heads running straight at you with explosives on their chests and their arms in the air screaming something in Arabic. Shoot one in the chest, and they explode long before they get to you. It's embarrassing how stupid this looks. Especially since the cut scene just before this shows footage of September 11th. To think that our military is facing anything this stupid on the ground in the Middle East is insulting to them and us.

Ok, now that's out of the way, onto the good...the gameplay. You play as either one of these two mercenaries and either the computer or another buddy plays as the other guy. The first time through this game, I played with the 30yoRoomie and it was a great experience. I personally love playing games cooperatively. It's a great feeling where you two have to work together to overcome an obstacle. And in this game, it's absolutely imperative that you work together.

First, there is a system in the game in place called Aggro. What Aggro basically means is that the computer enemies will focus their fire on the guy who's firing the most. So say for example, you are playing with a friend and while you are taking cover, your friend decides to run straight out in the open firing at anything that moves. Well the computer enemies will then focus their fire on your friend cutting him to ribbons, and leave you completely alone. Sometimes in the game that's a strategically important option. If for example you need to flank around a machine gun nest, then your friend can run around like an idiot. While everyone is focused on him, you can easily sneak around behind everyone and shoot the machine gunner in the back of the head. It's pretty cool.

The second time through the game I played with the computer as my buddy. In most games like this my biggest complaint is that your computer buddies look like they are doing a lot, but in truth they are hitting nothing, and it's up to you to kill all 562 enemies while your computer buddies are just hanging back. Not in this game. If the computer is your AI buddy, you can bet he's kicking just as much ass as you. Don't feel like going into a room first? No problem, send the computer guy to do it. You control all of his actions. Tell him to charge, hang back, regroup, kick ass, or stay low. It's all up to you, and for the most part he's very responsive. It's very innovative game play and it's a joy to play.

The game moves along at a very quick exciting pace. Just when you start to really get into the game and enjoy it, it's over. Army of Two will take about 20 hours to beat. The game and cut scenes look brilliant and the story is enjoying, except for the times where it's stupid to the point of insulting. Either way, for those of you who liked Gears of War and other hardcore shooters, this game is very enjoyable and worth a look.

Until next time,

- The 30 Year Old Gamer

Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3)

For us gamers, this week is a very exciting one. It's the week of the Electronic Entertainment Expo, also known as E3. It's this week where every major company in the video game industry presents it's upcoming software and hardware to the press to create an initial buzz before those items are released. Way way back in the day, it was E3 that gave the world it's first look at the original Nintendo Entertainment System. In the past few years it was E3 that showed us our first look at the Xbox 360, PS3, and the Nintendo Wii. It was never even called the "Wii" until E3.

On the software side, E3 has not only introduced us to the games that we now know and love, such as Halo, Metal Gear Solid, and Grand Theft Auto, it has also allowed us to play those games very briefly. It was two years ago that we first saw someone step on stage and swing a wii-mote to hit a virtual tennis ball. Today, it's the ultimate craze.

So this week is this year's E3, and there really isn't a lot of hardware to talk about. There are no new consoles or crazy gadgets. This year is all about software. New games to play on your PS3, 360, and Wii. I've been following the coverage and here are a few games that have really impressed me so far that look to be released in time for this holiday season. For your viewing pleasure, I've put the E3 trailers for each of these games on the right.

Ghostbusters (PS3, 360, Wii, PS2)

This game looks like a ton of fun and will definitely be on my buy list. The game is a brand new story line for the Ghostbusters where you play a new recruit on the team, hired by Egon and Ray to try out all of their new equipment that they feel is just too dangerous for them to test out. The story has some familiar scenes and enemies but also has a lot of new content as well. What I am really impressed with is that the story was completely written by Dan Akroyd and Harold Ramis and the game has the full cast back for voice work including Bill Murray. I loved Ghostbusters growing up and if this game is half as decent as the trailer looks, the I will love the game as well.

Gears of War 2 (Xbox 360) Oh hell yeah! When the first Gears of War was released two years ago, I said that this was the reason why we play video games. The sequel looks like it is going to take that game and put it on Red Bull. There are a lot more enemies, and the battles look a lot more epic than the first, and that's saying something. They mention that this game will have a much more detailed storyline than the first, which is awesome, since the first game I thought the story was pretty lacking. The trailer looks incredible, definitely check it out.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (Xbox 360, PS3)

Ok, so I'm a big Star Wars fan. You caught me. I grew up watching the movies and I love all things Star Wars. Having said that, this game looks great. The game takes place between Episode 3 (the last movie) and Episode 4 (the first movie). You play as Darth Vader's apprentice and you are learning all the ways of the dark side. You start off as just the baddest bad ass in all of the galaxy, and then you start to get tempted by the ways of the Jedi. This is a complete reversal of the movies where you start good and get tempted by the dark side. I think the game looks awesome and I can't wait to play it.

Fallout 3 (Xbox 360)
This is a role-playing game that was created by Bethesda. This is the same company which created the game Oblivion a couple years back which took about 100 hours of my life. With the same quality as that game, they've created a post-apocalyptic US. The bombs have dropped and you are stuck in the wasteland of what is left. The game looks awesome and if it's as in depth as Oblivion was, then this will be a sure winner.

Left 4 Dead (Xbox 360)

Here's another that is just freaking awesome and definitely on my buy list. In this game you are in a team of four and you are stuck in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. Those zombie apocalypses seem to be happening a lot lately. But in this game, you have to work together with 3 buddies to get your whole team out of the horror. You can't leave anyone behind. Only together will you survive. I personally love co-op gameplay. It's just a ton of fun for me to play with buddies and get through games together, and I love the fact that this game is completely revolved around that idea.

Nintendo Wii

One of the things that I'm definitely disappointed in so far at this year's E3 is the Nintendo Wii. Now I love my Wii, but the biggest issue I have with it is the fact that there are no real good games for it. I think it's very innovative, but the game developers are having the hardest time releasing it's full potential, and this year's E3 is just more of the same. They have announced no good games at all for the Wii. The Nintendo press conference sounded like an analyst meeting. They did nothing but talk about pie charts and bar graphs of how sales are through the roof. And while every other developer is coming out with a ton of new games, Nintendo sits there with nothing. Very disappointing.

PS3

There are some really good looking games for the PS3 coming out, including Resistance 2, which looks to be just a huge title and the debut trailer for God of War 3. I played the original God of War on the PS2 and it was very well done. The way that you fought through old Greek mythology was just fantastic. This God of War is the first on the PS3, so hopefully it will be fantastic, but I don't think it will be released this year.

Also, I'm very happy that the PS3 has decided to lower their prices. This is great news. As the PS3 becomes more affordable, then it will become more popular. That means better games. Although I'm an Xbox guy, I definitely don't want to see the PS3 fail, and with this E3, it looks like they are really starting to hit their stride.

Now I'm sure I'm missing some games, but these are the ones that I'm keeping a close eye on as we move toward Christmas. Maybe if I'm a good 30yoGamer for the rest of the year, Santa may stick one or two of the titles above in my stocking on Christmas. I guess I'll just have to wait and see, I just hope the wait isn't too bad

Until next time,

- The 30 Year-old Gamer

Monday Morning Review: Guitar Hero Aerosmith

If you've been counting, Guitar Hero Aerosmith is the 37th Guitar Hero game released this year. They squeezed it in nicely between Guitar Hero Elton John and Guitar Hero Abba. And let me tell you, if you pass on this Guitar Hero, you aren't really missing anything.

As you read from a previous blog, The 30yoGF and I are huge fans of the Guitar Hero series. We play at least a few songs just about every weekend. And with me being from Boston and all, the 30yoGF thought it would be just a perfect decision to pick up the latest in the Guitar Hero franchise, Guitar Hero Aerosmith.Now to be fair, the game isn't awful. It is Guitar Hero after all, so even on it's worst days it's still better than playing Wii Play. The way the game plays is pretty cool. You are basically going to play through the entire Aerosmith career, starting at their very first gig at their high school. Each segment starts with interviews from the band about what each gig meant to them and their career, which is pretty cool. It sort of puts the whole thing into perspective. Then the segment starts with you using the standard Guitar Hero characters as the opening band for Aerosmith. You play a couple cover songs, and then it's Aerosmith's turn. You then play as the famous band itself and play their songs. It's here where the game falls off the rails.

The biggest problem with the game is that the songs just aren't that good. Each segment has about 3-4 Aerosmith songs. Some of them are very good, like the Run DMC version of Walk this Way. However, there is just way too much filler. Sure, there are some bad songs in GH3 and GH2, but they are few and far in between. There is a segment in GH Aerosmith where you are playing internationally, and 3 of the 4 songs are just flat awful. They make you want to just sit on your couch and get through them as fast as possible.

Also, there really aren't a lot of songs. There are about half as many songs in this game as in GH3, and when half of those songs suck, you really feel like you kind of got ripped off. Remember, this game costs just as much as GH3. Let's also not forget that all of the graphics are identical to GH3. Except for the Aerosmith characters, there is absolutely no difference at all. If you are playing one of the non-Aerosmith songs, you would have no idea if this is GH3 or GH Aerosmith, except for the fact that this song sucks.

And if you don't like Aerosmith? Forget about it. There would be no reason at all to ever play this game. If you do like Aerosmith, then it's entertaining but not much more. So if you have beaten Rock Band, Guitar Hero 3, and all of the downloadable content and are still looking for more, then go out and rent this one. It's not worth your money to buy it at full price. And this advice is coming from a guy from Boston who grew up listening to Aerosmith.

Until next time,

- The 30 Year Old Gamer

This Space For Rent

Now that I'm done with Grand Theft Auto 4 and have left Liberty City in my rear view mirror, I find myself asking the question, "now what do I play?" Since we are in the Dog Days of Summer, I've decided that now is the time that I will go back and play some of the games that I may have missed along the way. Now the list of games that I would like to play is long indeed. So this past weekend I went with the 30yoGF to the mall to grab some lunch, which was just a ruse so I could stop by my local GameStop and pick up a used video game. Hopefully, one of the ones on my list. What I found was disappointing indeed.

Now I'm seeing commercials all over the place from GameStop for people to trade in their used video games to GameStop for $15. So I'm thinking to myself, "if they are buying these games for $15, then they must be selling them at a very nice discount." Like many other times in my life, I'm dead wrong. Below is just a short list of video games that I interested in playing and their GameStop new and used prices.

Call of Duty 4: New $60, Used $56 ($4 off)

The Simpsons Game: New $30, Used $27 ($3 off)

The Orange Box: New $40, Used $35 ($5 off)

So let me get this straight, a video game that they purchase from a 16 year old kid for $15 they then resell for $56, for a profit of $41. Nice. And from a customer perspective I the opportunity to purchase a game that is over 1 year old for $56 or I can pony up the extra $4 and buy it new. That's awesome. What a deal.

Needless to say I walked out of GameStop empty handed and disappointed. Because while I would really like to play The Simpsons Game, I don't really feel like spending $30 on a game that I'm probably going to play for a week and then never touch again. So I find myself seriously considering an avenue that I haven't walked down since I was in high school, renting.

That afternoon I took a short drive to my local Hollywood Video to rent a couple video games and spend the rest of that afternoon playing. As I'm driving to the store I'm thinking how awesome it will be to play Call of Duty 4 or Orange Box. I'm imagining how great the feeling will be as I pick up Battlefield Bad Company and tear up the online multiplayer.

As you can imagine, this trip also ended in severe disappointment. They had absolutely nothing to rent. I mean nothing! The 30yoRoomie and I were debating whether we should rent Nascar 08 (they've already released Nascar 09 which was out of stock), Ghost Recon 2, or Splinter Cell Double Agent. All of these games were originally released 1 or even 2 years ago. Games released within the past 6 months? Forget about it.

We ended up renting Nascar and Splinter Cell and to be fair, we are having a lot of fun with both. Nascar is a surprisingly good game, with some very difficult driving mechanics and races that are very rewarding. Splinter Cell is a very intelligent spy game with some serious difficulty issues if you've never played a Splinter Cell game before.

This is a new found joy of renting for me. Now I get to play games I wouldn't have even touched before, and I don't have to shell out the money that GameStop is asking. So what I plan on doing over the next day or two is go online to a game renting website called GameFly. GameFly works just like NetFlix. For a monthly fee, you can rent any game you want and keep it as long as you like. When you are done, just send it back and they give you another to rent. I'm having a hard time debating if the amount per month ($16 for one game at a time, $22 for two games at a time) is worth it. For right now, it definitely seems like it is, however when Christmas rolls around and I've got a pile of new games to play, maybe not. But I think I'll give it a shot and I'll let you know how I feel about it in a later blog.

So in the immediate future I'm going to start knocking some of those games off of my list. And don't judge me because of the games I play. They all can't be first person shooters. Sometimes you need to play a Lost: Via Domus or a Boom Blox. Sometimes it's ok to rent a crappy game. This way I'll appreciate the better games that much more.

Until next time,

- The 30 Year Old Gamer

Now Leaving Liberty City

This past Sunday was a landmark event for me. At around 9:30pm, I defeated Grand Theft Auto 4. It was a long ride that started the day GTA4 was released and now has officially come to an end 8 weeks and 40 gaming hours later. So this week, I wanted to just take a quick minute and look back at the city that I'm now leaving in my rear view mirror and give you my final thoughts on Grand Theft Auto 4.

This is the first ever Grand Theft Auto game that I've beaten. Every other GTA game I've played, I felt got very repetitive and thus I got bored with the game and eventually, I put the game down and never touched it again. This game from the very beginning was different. I know a lot has been said about the graphics and the city, but it definitely bears repeating. This game is one of the best looking games I've ever seen. Liberty City is an incredible reflection of New York City. The streets are alive and all of the key landmarks in New York City are in the game. You truly feel like you are interacting with a real life city. And this is important because when the missions in GTA4 become repetitive (and they do), it's the city that keeps you going. It's so much fun travelling from one point to the other that you completely forget that this is your 72nd time going over the Brooklyn Bridge to kill someone.


Another huge praise to this game has to go to the supporting characters. Each one is very different and your relationship with each character is some of the deepest that you will find in a video game. Each character has one major flaw. Whether it's your cousin Roman's lack of a spine and gambling problem, or it's Derek's huge drug problem, it's as if each character is in search of some redemption and it's up to you to help them get there.

The story itself I found to be great, although it definitely has flaws. The beginning of the game is very slow. You start the game right off the boat and spend the first hour basically driving people from one place to the next. You might as well call the game Grand Theft Chauffeur It's pretty boring at first, but then picks up quickly. The game then slows down a lot just before the end. The last dozen missions are basically the same and you start to get the feeling that the designers just put these relatively useless missions in there just to extend the game. But it's all made up for in the end with a terrific ending with a major decision that's needed to be made that will drastically affect the outcome of the game. My major flaw with the game is the main character himself, Nico Bellic. Just so we're clear here, Nico is a sociopathic killer and should be shot in the head as soon as possible. He basically goes throughout the game really disgruntled and when a random person he just meets suggests he goes kill someone, he just goes right out to do it. There have to be at least 40 missions that start like this...

"Nico, I need you to travel to X and kill Y. Take care of him for me."
"Oh I don't know. Why should I?"
"Because I'm asking you to. Do it for me!"
"Ok."

Throughout the game I had to rack up a body count in the hundreds, including many cops. By the end of the game I was a walking armory and anyone that so much as looked at me wrong would get a bullet to the head without a second thought. Say I was trying to steal a car and the driver was stupid enough to yell at me...BANG! Or I'm driving down the sidewalk to avoid police and someone was walking on that sidewalk...BANG! Or say I crash land a helicopter in mid-town Manhattan and the police have the audacity to try to arrest me...BANG!

Nico Bellic is easily the worst main character in the history of gaming. His motivation is either money or revenge and the path to both is death.

But the monotony of those missions were really outshined by the few that were very memorable. There is one in the middle of the game where you rob a Bank of America and you have to shoot your way out of the bank in Manhattan against a sea of police. The only way to escape with your buddies is by jumping into a subway station and running down the tracks in the tunnel. Awesome! In another mission, you have to interrupt a prison transfer by stealing a truck and blocking off the Lincoln Tunnel and then hijack the truck and escape the cops. Awesome!

Overall, the single player campaign was an absolute joy to play and the game will be remembered for a long time after I leave Liberty City. If violent crime games is your sort of cup of tea, then this game is a must buy. However be warned, this game is much too graphic and adult for the younger gamers. Leave this kind of mature game for 30 Year Old Gamers out there.

Have a happy and safe 4th of July!

Until next time,

- The 30 Year Old Gamer